According to a new study by the University of South Australia, smartwatches or fitness trackers can detect the illnesses of COVID-19 and heart conditions earlier.

Study Overview
It collated information from 1.2 million participants in 28 studies and found the devices correctly identified COVID-19 in 88% of cases – a similar result to rapid tests. They also detected the presence of atrial fibrillation – or an irregular heartbeat – in 87% of cases.

Fall and Cardiac Condition Detection
Apart from cases of COVID-19 and heart conditions, the devices detected fall correctly in 82% of cases. Results of this study have been published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research mHealth and uHealth and shed light on the ever-expanding role of wearable technology in personal health monitoring.

Beyond Fitness
Grown Although originally designed for tracking fitness, these wearables track heart rate, blood pressure, and quality of sleep, among other metrics. This makes one be in charge of his health and promptly act on problems.

Promising Future
Lead author Ben Singh said devices like these promise to improve health monitoring. “Water trackers not only help people become more engaged in their health care but also enable them to monitor their health in real-time,” Singh said. Because of this, it has the potential—as wearable technology development continues—to enable the early detection of disease, which may reduce the severity of health problems simply through earlier intervention.